ARUNDEL

There is this local legend about a giant in Arundel, So big was he that he could easily walk from the coast to the isle of Wight, One day so the story goes the giant walked up to the earl of the castle and offered to be the warden in exchange for a Sussex ox and Southdown ewe (sheep) as well as two large barrel' s of ale and as much bread as the giant could eat, Come the giant' s 100th birthday he thought that he had lived long enough so he called over squire and asked for his sword, The giant then picked up this sword known as morglay and then flung it into Arundel park saying where it land' s that is where I want to be buried well the sword buried itself in pugh dean which is known today as the bevis' s grave (the giant s name was bevis).

There is this local tradition that the people of Arundel have the right to call themselves `mullet's you see the word refers to a fish that is a local delicacy which can be caught in the river arun, And is said to be one of the seven good thing s of Sussex ! there is a rhyme that goes with the fish that came from offham just up the road from Arundel that went `Arundel mullet stinking fish eat if off a dirty dish` and the reply that came from Arundel was` offham dingers church bell ringers only tatters for your Sunday dinners ?, And do what they still use this rhyme today !.

It is said the church of St Nicholas is haunted by the ghost of a nun as well as other apparitions !, The castle as well has its fair share of ghosts like the blue man who is said to be seen in the library of the castle dressed in clothes from the time of Charles II, Also on some nights you can hear pots and pans in the kitchen rattle as well as the noise of cannon fire from the siege in 1643 during the civil war.

Arundel castle was built just after the battle of Hastings in 1066 by roger Montgomery earl of Shrewsbury to defend the town of Arundel from searaiders the castle was then added to in 1170 and again 1190, But in 1643 the castle was under siege in 1643 by cromwell' s men and for many years after that was left as a ruin but then in the 18th century was rebuilt, Then in 1890 the castle was heavily restored, Next to the castle is the church of St Nicholas that was built in the 14th century that on the inside houses the tomb' s of the dukes of Norfolk as well as the earls of Arundel.

Just up from the castle stand' s Arundel park that in it has hiorn' s tower that was built in 1790 as a folly by the then earl of Arundel that look' s like a medieval hunting tower so that the earl of Arundel could see the people in village of Arundel and what they were up to ?.

If you head north past the Southdown' s way you will come to the village of bury, It was in the village of bury in bury house that the writer john galsworthy who wrote the forsythe saga lived form 1926 to 1933, John galsworthy is remembered more for his kindness rather that for writing the forsythe saga, For on his arrival he doubled the wages of all the gardeners that worked at the house, One of the other things that he did was a village was in debt, So he lent the man the money and when the villager had repaid the money john galsworthy gave the money back to the man as a gift, He then bought a cottage for this widow so that she could live there rent free after hearing that her husband who was a lorry driver had died in a accident, After hearing that villagers were worried about the rent he then timely reduced it !, It was said john galsworthy was playing croquet when he first heard about his noble prize for literature he had won, Bury house is a reproduction after the first house was destroyed in a fire it then cost john galsworthy upto £39,000 to rebuild ,He later died there and his ashes were scattered over the downs above bury in agreement with the instructions that were found in his study on a piece of paper some 22 years later his wife also died and her ashes are scattered over bury hill as well.

At the other end of the village there was once a ferry that went from Arundel to bury but that all stopped in 1977 when it closed, Next to where the ferry used to go from stands the church that was built in 13th century the spire of the church was added to in 1603 with oak shingles, On the outside of bury church is a holy water stoup that dates from the 15th century, Bury was also the place where James barrie the author of peter pan lived it was said that James barrie was scared of the dark and as all of the power for the village of bury came from bury house, All went well until James barrie visited the village for he asked that the light in his bedroom stayed on all night so that the generator in bury house used to regularly overheat so that more than often the village was without power !. There were at one time two pubs in the village of bury one of the pubs has closed for good, But there are hopes that it will be opened again there other pub on the A29 is in the process of being restored.

If you now walk along the banks of the river arun you will come to the village Houghton close to amberley, It was here in 1651 after the battle of Worcester that Charles the II stayed the night in the George and dragon inn before he headed for France.

Just a bit further down the road about a mile away you will come the village of north stoke, The doomsday book of 1086 records that there was a church at north stoke the one that you can see today dates from the 13th century that added to later, On from north stoke over a suspension bridge (don't worry this suspension bridge is quite safe !) you will come to the village of south stoke once again the dooms day book of 1086 records that there was a church on the site as well as a small village the church that you can see today dates from a later time.

The start of any town or village like bury and Arundel is its church, Its past prosperity and the piety of its parishioners with the monuments and brasses that record some of the important people of Arundel and bury going back some 500 to 600 years or so, Also the gravestone' s in the churchyard might tell of generations of people that once lived in and around the village or town, Also if a graveyard is elevated a few feet above its surroundings so that you have to step down to get inside the church, It was thought that as the people died and were buried the earth that was left was spread out so the older the church the higher it is ?, On the inside of the church are the parish records that recall what life was like in the 16th century and earlier.

The church at one time was built of wood but later replaced by stone and was the one place that villagers lavished time and money on, Church expenses were paid for by a system called tithes where the villagers was compelled to contribute cash or any other belongings, This was one bale of hay out of ten one cow out of ten and so on as well as using the church to prey in they would also use the nave as a communal village hall or to watch plays and the odd miracle ! or to participate in church ales these were revelries held on holydays (holidays) and it was obligatory to attend mass it seems that church ales were nothing more than over indulging in drink (getting drunk) this being followed by the odd dance or two ?, The ale was brewed in a ale house that stood next to the church, The ale was then sold in the church and in the churchyard and the money that came from the sale of the ale went to something special like a bell for the church tower, apart from that it was a good way of raising money for the upkeep of the church, Church ales were common throughout the 15th century but as the drinking often led to drunkenness they were discouraged by the more sensitive priest so that this event slowly but gradually fell into decline and by the 17th century had completely disappeared.

One thing that the villager had to do was pay for the upkeep of the church which they could ill afford some of them turned to crime highway robbery and looting but that was the exception more than the rule, Another thing that the villager had to put up with was the village wise woman or witch, As it became necessary for the priest to lock up the holy water to stop it from being used, Or stolen for black magic and witchcraft or to ward off evil spirits.